Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocyte Therapy After Immunotherapy in Advanced Melanoma: Omid Hamid, MD

This content originally appeared on our sister site, OncLive.

OncLive spoke with Omid Hamid, MD, director, Melanoma Program, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, chief, Translational Research and Immunotherapy, director, Melanoma Therapeutics, Phase I Immuno-Oncology Program, The Angeles Clinic and Research Institute, to learn more about the efficacy of tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy following immunotherapy in advanced melanoma.

Lessons are continuing to be learned regarding TIL therapy in melanoma as more data emerge from large clinical trials. Hamid discussed how TIL therapy can be given in any type of hospital setting, meaning it is not limited to academic centers that have facilities where TILs can be manufactured. Many centers have been able to utilize TILs with the help of newer companies that make the therapies off site, Hamid added.

Moreover, it was discovered that in patients who are resistant to other types of immunotherapies, such as checkpoint inhibitors, TIL therapy can induce durable responses, Hamid continued. Data that have been recently presented demonstrated that approximately 80% of patients responding to TIL therapy were those whose best response to checkpoint inhibition with PD-1 inhibitors was progressive disease, Hamid explains. Additionally, patients who previously benefited from anti­–CTLA-4 therapy have the potential to benefit from this therapy as well, Hamid says.

Overall, these data suggest that adoptive T-cell therapy could become a standard in the care option for patients with metastatic melanoma, Hamid concluded.